Facebook plans FA Cup stream

Non-League football clubs Ascot United and Wembley FC will get their moment in the sun when Facebook shows their FA Cup meeting live on its website on Friday evening (August 19).

The preliminary round match at the Racecourse Ground has been chosen by the FA and the famous trophy’s new sponsor Budweiser.

”What better way to demonstrate this than by broadcasting the very first kick to a global audience via Facebook,” said Budweiser’s head of UK marketing Ian Newell. ”This is the first time a FA Cup tournament fixture has been broadcast live on the social network, which is great news for football fans and clubs alike.”

Social networking sites are increasingly exploring live television streams. Earlier this year YouTube streamed live coverage of Indian Premier League cricket. In the United States, Facebook itself has begun to experiment with movie downloads.